New laws in Scotland could force a 60mph speed limit on all Scottish motorways.
The Scotland Bill, a new piece of legislation which allows the devolved Scottish government to change certain taxation laws, has provision for the changing of speed limits on all motorways in the country.
Road safety campaigners are lobbying for a blanket 60mph limit to be imposed on all Scottish motorways, meaning that even on the widest, best-flowing motorways the limit would be 10mph less than it is now. It would also mean that anyone crossing the border into Scotland would have to slow down by 10mph when passing the ‘Welcome to Scotland’ sign.
Figures from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory speed/emission curves show that travelling at 60mph rather than 70mph can reduce fuel consumption (and so CO2 emissions) by 4%-8% per kilometer. Exceeding the speed limit by travelling at 80mph uses between 10% and 15% more fuel.
From a drivers’ point of view the obvious side-affect of a blanket 60mph limit on motorways is to slow journey times considerably.
But will it make the roads a safer place to be?
Consider that on the continent the speed limit on motorways is 130km/h, which equates to 81mph. If they can do it, is there any reason the UK can’t follow suit?
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